


Check Yes

by helloearthlings



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Marriage Proposal, Modern Era
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-17
Updated: 2017-08-17
Packaged: 2018-12-16 08:56:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,488
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11825361
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/helloearthlings/pseuds/helloearthlings
Summary: Do you want to be my friend?Check YES ____             NO ____Later, after recess was over, Arthur searched through his desk to find a pencil. Still too big for his clumsy hands, he checked the line next to YES before slipping it back to Merlin.He hoped it made Merlin smile.





	Check Yes

**Author's Note:**

> So this was NOT the story that I mentioned in my a/n...that will be an immortal Merlin story that will probably appeal only to me. This has possibly the most universal appeal ever and personally, I think it's sweet. 
> 
> I hope everyone enjoys, hopefully tomorrow I'll have something significantly more epic up!

**_Age Five_ **

_Do you want to be my friend?_

_Check YES ____             NO _____

Arthur frowned down at the note Merlin slipped him under the table just before recess, his legs knocking against Arthur’s, his fingers drumming against the desk.

“You didn’t check anything,” Merlin pouted when Arthur handed it back to him once they were on the playground. He scuffed his shoe in the sand as their classmates ran around them, yelling and racing to get to the swings first.

“That’s because boys don’t give those notes to boys, they give them to girls,” Arthur informed him primly. Merlin came from the rotten side of town; that’s what his father said. Arthur had to teach him the rules of the world. “And they ask if you want to be boyfriend girlfriend.”

“But Morgana gave one to Gwen,” Merlin’s forehead creased and his eyes welled up.

“That’s because Morgana’s _weird_ ,” Arthur couldn’t figure out why he felt so bad that Merlin felt bad.

“Do you think I’m weird?”

“You’re the weirdest,” Arthur said, and felt bad again, but this time, Merlin’s face lit up with a smile.

“My mum says that being weird is good,” Merlin proclaimed. “She says it makes me special.”

“Well, your mum’s weird, too,” Arthur said, and Merlin just smiled back.

Later, after recess was over, Arthur searched through his desk to find a pencil. Still too big for his clumsy hands, he checked the lines next to YES before slipping it back to Merlin.

He hoped it made Merlin smile.

**_Age Ten_ **

_Please be my friend again?_

_Check YES ____ NO _____

“I’m sorry, Merlin,” Arthur said as Merlin read the note, his lower lip quivering all the while.

Arthur had been what Morgana called a little shit yesterday. Father had yelled at her for it, but she just whispered _little shit_ to Arthur again when Father left the room.

Arthur had ditched Merlin after school to hang out with Val and Cen. They were on the football team with him. Well, Merlin was on the football team too, but he wasn’t very good, not like Arthur. Not like Val and Cen.

Val and Cen didn’t like Merlin much. They made fun of his ears the whole time Arthur was at Val’s house, and Arthur couldn’t even eat his mum’s cookies without feeling sick, knowing that Merlin was crestfallen and still waiting for him to walk home together outside the school.

“You were a little shit,” Merlin told him and Arthur scrunched up his face in disgust.

“You talked to Morgana,” Arthur said sulkily and Merlin nodded.

“Don’t do it again, okay?” Merlin said, but when he handed the sheet of paper back to Arthur, he had checked yes.

Arthur never felt better.

**_Age Fifteen_ **

“Did you hear that Morgana is really Gwen’s girlfriend now?” Arthur pretended the question was casual as he and Merlin sat in Merlin’s living room playing his x-box. Arthur’s was a newer model, better quality, but if they played at Merlin’s, they got to avoid Uther.

Arthur was all about avoiding Uther.

“Yeah, I did,” Merlin said, and he sounded almost enthusiastic about it.

“Do you think that’s...” Arthur trailed off, not sure where he was going with this question or why his heart was beating so loudly.

Merlin frowned at him, finally setting his controller down. “Why? Do you…not agree with that or something? Cause that’s fucked up, Arthur. She’s your sister. And no one in the world is better than Gwen.”

Merlin was getting fired up, Arthur could tell from the way his hand was clenched, and he quickly said “No, no, I’m not mad about it or anything. I think it’s great. Well, for Morgana. Gwen might be able to do better.”

Merlin laughed, but there was still a troubled look in his eye. “Arthur, seriously. What’s wrong with Morgana dating Gwen?”

Arthur shrugged. “I mean, they’re never going to hang out with us anymore. They’re just gonna wanna bone. Do girls bone?”

Merlin made a disgusted face, shoving at Arthur’s shoulder. “Gross! I don’t wanna know what they’re doing!”

Arthur didn’t know what he was going to say next until it came out of his mouth. “Morgana and Gwen passed notes like we did. When we were little. The _do you like me_ notes.”

Merlin was quiet for a moment. “Is that…what are you saying? That now we have to bone because they’re boning? Figures that you’re being that competitive, Arthur. Football isn’t enough for you?”

“Shut up,” Arthur shoved him, and the subject was dropped as they returned to the video game at hand.

Arthur was still thinking about it when he left though, and maybe Merlin was, too. He kind of hoped Merlin was, too. He didn’t know what that meant, and didn’t like, so he tried not to think about such matters too much.

**_Age Twenty_ **

“So how’d you two meet?” Gwaine asked Merlin and Arthur, kicking his feet up on the table in the bar two blocks from campus. Gwaine was Merlin’s friend from his physics class and Arthur was struggling to see how a guy clearly so caught up in himself could ever muster a decent grade in physics.

Still, Merlin really seemed to like him, and wanted Arthur to come hang out and meet him. Gwaine made Arthur feel a burning in his chest that he knew was jealousy and yet didn’t want to name.

But Arthur did acknowledge that he desperately, desperately wanted to impress Gwaine so that he knew that Arthur was Merlin’s best friend, closest friend, now and forever.

“Oh, Merlin told me he _like-liked_ me back in the first grade,” Arthur said, sipping his beer innocently, knowing Merlin was going to smack him on the shoulder.

“Ow,” Arthur rubbed the sore spot a moment later, but Merlin ignored him.

“Is that the story you’re telling people now?” Merlin shook his head with a look of disdain on his face. Arthur’s heart sank a little. “Honestly. I can’t leave you alone anymore. Right, here’s what _really_ happened. Arthur’s sister Morgana gave Gwen one of those ‘Do you like me? Check yes or no’ notes that kids do. And so I decided to give one to Arthur asking if he would be my friend. Clearly, this story is getting blown far too out of proportion.”

“Hey, Morgana and Gwen are lesbians who live together!” Arthur protested with a laugh. “I’m just saying that you probably had the same ulterior motives as Morgana did. Evil harpy.”

“I’m assuming Morgana’s the evil harpy here,” Merlin muttered, rolling his eyes. “What does that make me?”

“Adorable,” Gwaine said with a look of glee on his face. “God, that’s hilarious. I’ve gonna use that bit to pull tonight. Who do you think, Merlin? The brunette girl at the bar or the muscly bloke by the jukebox?”

Arthur felt a little better hearing that Gwaine was pulling someone tonight, but a certain amount of paranoia seeped back in when Gwaine mentioned a bloke. He waited to hear Arthur’s response.

“The girl looks drunker, and therefore more likely to fall for such an epic disaster,” Merlin shook his head pityingly while he raised his pint in Gwaine’s direction. “Best of luck.”

Gwaine winked at them and jumped up from his seat as Arthur said “You do realize you’re calling _yourself_ an epic disaster.”

“I was five,” Merlin complained, and Arthur bit his lip to keep from laughing.

**_Age Twenty-Five_ **

It was after ten at night when Merlin finally buzzed up to Arthur’s apartment, but Arthur knew he’d be late. His flight hadn’t landed until after eight, and it was Merlin – Merlin was always late. It was just his way.

“Hi,” Merlin grinned at him when Arthur opened the door. There was day-old stubble on his face and a tired look in his eye, but he still looked so happy to see Arthur.

Arthur hoped he looked half as happy as he felt to see Merlin.

“That was a long fucking month,” Arthur faux-grumbled, resisting the urge to reach out and hug Merlin, instead padding back into his apartment. “I had to hang out with _Morgana_ and _Gwaine_. It was terrible.”

“Gwen was there to break up the relentless teasing, wasn’t she?” Merlin asked, and when Arthur turned to face him, he suddenly found that Merlin’s arms were around his middle, just for a split second.

“I’m glad I’m home,” Merlin said, and Arthur lifted his arms to squeeze Merlin back.

“Me too,” Arthur said, not quite knowing how to say _I missed you_ out loud.

“So how was Siberia or wherever the fuck you were?” Arthur asked as he pulled a pint of vanilla ice cream from the freezer, as per Merlin’s request. Merlin’s eyes lit up as he took out the bowls and spoons. Arthur scooped as Merlin regarded him crossly.

“It was Romania and you know it. And it was great! I got all kinds of interesting interviews with people present for the [Timișoara](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timi%C8%99oara) uprising. I think my piece about eastern revolutions paralleling today’s current events is going to go over really well in next month’s issue.”

Arthur smiled, a bit bemused, just like he always was when Merlin talked about work, his hands flying as he explained a point, the grin on his face bright and infectious, because he really loved what he was doing, and believed in it.

Arthur loved listening to Merlin talk. He’d deny it to anyone who asked, but there was nothing like hearing Merlin chatter on about whatever he deemed most important to him. It always ended up becoming important to Arthur, too.

Arthur did have to interrupt him eventually to remind him “Morgana and Gwen’s wedding is in three weeks. Do you have your tux yet? Morgana was very insistent that I remind you.”

Merlin waved a hand flippantly. “Oh, I’ll get around to it.”

Arthur glared at him. Merlin laughed a little. “Alright, I’ll call Morgana tomorrow and sort out the details. Will that make her happy?”

“Extremely,” Arthur said with a sigh. “Are you bringing a plus one? She asked about that, too.”

She hadn’t, but Arthur was rather invested in hearing an answer.

Merlin shrugged. “Nah. I’ve been out of the country for too long to find someone this last-minute. And there’s no one I’d really want to go with, anyway.”

Arthur couldn’t help but hear a bitter twist in Merlin’s voice, which was just wrong, especially when Merlin was with Arthur eating vanilla ice cream.

“Well, I don’t, either,” Arthur said and Merlin half-smiled over at him. “Let’s go together, yeah? I mean, we’re the only groomsmen, so we’re pretty much going to be stuck together the whole time, anyway.”

“Together, like, hit on bridesmaids together?” Merlin asked, stirring the melted parts of his ice cream with a spoon. “Or together like…. _together_?”

Arthur was too shocked at Merlin asking the question to formulate a proper response. He quickly realized he needed to, however, when Merlin’s face crumbled.

“Oh, God, that was stupid. I shouldn’t have – obviously, hit on bridesmaids together, that was implied, wasn’t it? Shit, you’re gonna be weird about this, I know you are –”

“No,” Arthur found himself saying, cutting Merlin off. “I meant…no, I didn’t mean, I hoped…well. I.”

Arthur stared at Merlin. Merlin stared back. They seemed to have reached an impasse where neither one of them was willing to make the next move, afraid the other might jump like a started deer.

Arthur remembered that the wedding invitation was sitting on the kitchen counter. He moved two steps to pick it up, before hesitantly sliding it in Merlin’s direction.

_Will you be bringing a plus one to the wedding?_

_Check YES ____ NO _____

_(Remember the good things that can happen when you check yes!)_

There was a picture of five year old Morgana and Gwen next to it, recalling the beginnings of their childhood romance.

Merlin laughed when he saw it, just slightly, and when he passed it back to Arthur, the box was checked.

Arthur couldn’t help but blush, not able to meet Merlin’s eye, and then he realized that Merlin had written something else beneath it.

_Does this mean you’re my boyfriend now?_

_Check YES ___ NO ____

Arthur bit his lip to keep from smiling too much.

**_Age Thirty_ **

“Merlin?” Arthur leaned his neck to the side, hearing an unpleasant cracking sound that made him wince. “You home?”

Arthur threw his keys on the table, shrugging off his jacket. It was the middle of winter, and it had been snowing on his walk home, so it was wet and gross, as was his suit, his shoes, his hair, and nearly everything else about him.

Arthur grumbled quietly to himself when Merlin didn’t answer. Merlin should be home. Merlin texted him to say he was on his way home right before Arthur left work. Arthur was about to go back to the bedroom to whine at Merlin about the weather when he saw that there was a vase of flowers on the kitchen counter.

Arthur frowned, staring at them. How was Merlin to know he was in a bad mood? He had been feeling fine up until this blasted weather.

He pinned it on his and Merlin’s obvious psychic connection, and stopped to appreciate his boyfriend’s thoughtfulness.

It was when he approached the table to examine the flowers more closely that he saw the piece of paper beneath them.

_Please wear this forever?_

_Check YES ___ NO ____

Arthur didn’t quite realize what the note meant – wear what? The flowers? It wasn’t like all of his suits had lapel pins, honestly, he wasn’t that pretentious – but then he noticed the small silver band sitting next to the vase and his heart nearly stopped in his chest.

There was a pen on the other side of the paper, and Arthur tentatively picked it up, eyes daring about the room to see if Merlin was approaching, before checking the YES box.

“Hi,” Merlin smiled nervously at him when Arthur entered the bedroom. His eyes immediately zeroed in on the paper in Arthur’s hand. And probably the ring he held reverently in his palm. “You – you saw it?”

“I thought you might like to do the honors,” Arthur said, smiling a little shakily back at him, holding out the ring.

Merlin’s face broke into a brilliant grin that took Arthur’s breath away, and when he took the ring in his hand, he went down on one knee.

“I wasn’t gonna _not_ do this part,” Merlin said when Arthur shook his head fondly. “Arthur, you’re my best friend and I love you and want to spend a couple hundred lifetimes with you. Will you please check yes and be my husband?”

Arthur held out the paper in response, a huge checkmark taking up the entire YES half of the page.


End file.
